Data storage systems include provisions for housing and managing one or more physical digital data storage devices and making digital data storage space on the installed storage devices available to one or more data-connected user computers. A storage system that includes multiple storage devices is sometimes referred to as a storage “array.” A storage array may have bays (slots) in which storage devices can be installed. Many storage arrays are designed to allow non-technical end users to install and remove storage devices in the slots without tools. A storage array may support one or more types of storage device (e.g., magnetic disk drives, optical disk drives, solid state storage units such as flash and USB drives, tape drives, etc.). The DROBO™ data storage system available from Drobo, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., is an example of a storage array having slots for multiple storage devices (specifically disk drives).
Typically, the cumulative storage space of all the installed storage devices (less space used for overhead and redundancy) is made to appear to the user computers as a single virtual disk. Storage systems control the installed storage devices and manage the storage capacity provided by the installed storage devices. For example, some data storage systems may store data redundantly on two or more of the installed storage devices, in case one of the storage devices fails.
Auxiliary applications, sometimes referred to as “dashboard” applications, may provide user interfaces to data storage systems. For example, a dashboard application may provide a graphical display, such as a pie chart, that indicates how the storage space on the storage devices is currently being used, i.e., the amount of storage space that is currently free, reserved for expansion, used for protection (data redundancy) and used for overhead. A dashboard application may be executed by a user computer that is connected to a data storage system via a wired or wireless computer network, a universal serial bus (USB) cable, or the like.
Many such data storage systems are designed to be used by unsophisticated users. For example, a data storage system may be configured such that storage devices may be added to or removed from the data storage system by a user without use of tools, without powering down the data storage system or the user computer, and without the user interacting with any management software. A user may increase the total amount of storage space in the data storage system simply by sliding an additional storage device into an available slot or by replacing an existing storage device with a storage device having a larger capacity. Similarly, a user may replace a failed storage device with a replacement storage device.
Software in the data storage system automatically detects the insertion and removal of storage devices. In response, the software formats newly inserted storage devices, copies data to storage devices that have been inserted to replace failed storage devices, etc. Thus, the user may treat the data storage system as a storage “appliance,” without understanding or managing its operation. The user may treat physical storage devices as commodities having stated capacities.
However, in order to accommodate several installed data storage devices, many present data storage systems, such as the above-mentioned DROBO™ data storage system, are too large to be physically installed inside user computers. Instead, many data storage systems are external, stand-alone systems that to connect to user computers via computer networks, USB cables, or the like.
On the otherhand, some data storage systems, such as the Raidon InTANK SR2760-2S-S2+, available from Raidon Technology, Inc., New Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.), are configured to conform to the form factor of 3.5-inch hard disk drives (HDD) and, therefore, may be installed inside user computers. For example, the Raidon data storage system accepts up to two 2.5-inch serial ATA (SATA) disk drives. Other products, such as the ST-1040 SS HDD backplane module available from SunnyTek Information Co., Ltd., Sanchung City, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.), support installing up to four 2.5-inch disk drives into a housing configured to conform to the form factor of a 5.25-inch disk drive. However, the SunnyTek device does not manage storage space on installed disk drives. Instead, the ST-1040 SS device merely allows physically mounting the four disk drives in the housing and installing the housing in a user computer. The housing includes four SATA connectors on the back of the device that merely make signals from the installed disk drives available external to the housing. A separate disk drive controller, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) controller card, external to the SunnyTek device, is required to manage the storage space.
Furthermore, these and other internally mounting devices require each disk drive to be inserted into a special caddy, before the disk drive can be installed in the mounting devices, or they require tools for installing or de-installing disk drives. Caddies can pose problems, especially for unsophisticated users. For example, a disk drive must be positioned correctly in a caddy, before the caddy is inserted into a storage system.
United States Pat. Publ. No. 2009/0311903 to Eyal Bychkov, et al., describes a push-to-insert, push-to-eject and pull-to-extract card connector. The Bychkov device accepts miniature electronic devices, such as small memory cards and small communication cards. The device includes a moveable, spring-loaded receptacle that “floats” in its chassis. The Bychkov device does not require caddies. However, even if the Bychkov device could be modified to accept disk drives, the Bychkov device appears to be too wide to accommodate two 2.5-inch disk drives, side-by-side, in a housing configured to conform to the form factor of a 5.25-inch disk drive.
The prior art fails to meet the needs of users of data storage systems. No prior art device conforms to the form factor of a disk drive and user-swappably accepts a plurality of smaller form factor disk drives into respective drive slots, without tools or caddies. Furthermore, no known combination of prior art devices would provide such a data storage system.